Art of raising sunken ships



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ART OF'RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS Filed April 4, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

NORMAN E. DORLAND ATTQBNEVS Apwifl 3% W460 N. E. DQRLAND 3 9 RT OF RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS Filed April 4, 1944 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

NORMAN E. DORLAND.

ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 30, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlc 2,399,475 ART OF RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS Norman E. Dorland, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application April 4, 1944, Serial No. 529,478

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of raising sunken ships, and concerns itself with both methods and apparatus for salvaging sunken vessels. One of the most important applications of the invention is to salvage sunken ships Carrying cargoes.

By way of background, it may be stated that many ships carrying exceedingly valuable cargoes have been sunk within the past few years, principally by enemy action, in many cases in very deep portions of the ocean. As soon as conditions permit, attempts will undoubtedly be made to salvage the cargoes of these ships. Presently-known methods and systems for salvaging ships will not be equal to the almost insuperable task of salvaging even a small fraction of the ships that have been sent to the bottom of the ocean. Many of the prior methods are wholly impractical, and those that are practical are limited to shallow waters, and generally require very complicated and, cumbersome apparatus and contrivances.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a practical and economical method for raising sunken ships, which does not require the use of exceedingly complicated and cumbersome apparatus and contrivances.

At this point, it is to be noted that though I prefer not to use and need not use apparatus such as floating docks, I am not precluded from employing such apparatus, if a particular situation warrants.

Another important object is to provide a method for raising sunken ships, which may be used to raise ships containing heavy cargoes from great depths (e. g. 600 or more feet).

A further object of importance is to provide an apparatus for salvaging sunken ships, which is of relatively simple construction as compared with prior art contrivances, which is inexpensive, particularly as compared to the value of the salvaged cargoes, and which is very effective for the in-. tended purpose.

Briefly stated, the method of the invention in its broadest aspects consists in lowering a framework onto the ship to be salvaged, turning the ship and the frame-work so that the ship is supported on the frame-work, and raising both/the frame-work and, the ship carried by the framework.

The apparatus of the invention is particularly designed to be used to carr out the method, and in its essential details consists of a skeleton framework or cradle formed of a number of spaced and connected C-shaped elements, the closed sides of the Cs constituting the bottom and serving as rockers for the cradle. The O-shaped elemen are large enough to partially enclose the ship to be raised, and in the preferred embodiment they are provided with means for detachably securing cables.

Referring briefly to the drawings, wherein is shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing in amore or less diagrammatic manner the ship to be salvaged, the cradle positioned in juxtaposition thereto, the anchored cables and the pontoon, just before the water is blown out of the pontoon;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the pontoon reaching the surface and the cradle turned so as to support the ship;

Figure 3 is'a similar view after the cables are disconnected and pontoons are connected to the sides of the cradle, the cradle and ship being shown gradually rising;

Figure 4 is a plan view corresponding to the side view of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the C- shaped cradle-forming elements, partly broken away, and showing one way of detachably securing a cable thereto; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective View of said cradle-forming element, showing the manher in which the cable may be detached when the cradles is turned onto its bottom.

Reference will now be had to Figures 4, 5 and 6, wherein is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the skeleton frame-work 0r cradle, which is designated generally by the letter F. The frame-Work consists of a number of spaced and connected C-shaped elements, which are each des ignated generally by the numeral I. These elements may be connected together by ties, which are denoted by T.

As shown in Figure 5, the cradle-forming element i has the closed curved side 2, the upper end 3 and the lower end 4. The distance between the ends 3 and 4 is greater than the distance from the deck to the bilge keel on one side of the vessel to be raised, but is preferably somewhat smaller than the distance from the deck in a diagonal direction to the bilge keel on the opposite side of the vessel. The ends 3 and 4 may advantageously be provided with knife edges or points so that they can readily penetrate or obtain a purchase on the ship.

The elements I are preferably hollow, and may be made of steel or other suitable metal. Welded fabrication is preferred, but they may, if considered desirable, be made of bolted or riveted plates. Internal braces may be provided to withstand the pressure at the ocean floor. They may be provided with a small negative buoyancy, so that they will sink of their own weight to the bottom of the ocean. If desired, they may be provided with valves, not shown, to admit water to facilitate lowering'them. In such case, means may be provided to blow the water out, as in the case of a pontoon, to facilitate raising the cradle to the surface.

Ea h of the elements may advantageously be provided near the end 3 with a key slot to render it possible to detachably secure a cable. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, each of the slots has a restricted opening and is deep enough to receive a rod or bar such as the one indicated by the numeral I. The rod or bar I is common to all of the elements I of Figure 4, and has connected thereto in a suitable manner a plurality of cables, each designated by 8. The slots are disposed with their openings inclined away from the closed side 2 of the elements. Hence, the rod or bar cannot be pulled out by a tug on the cable, unless the cradle is resting on its rocker bottom.

Each of the elements I is shown as being provided near the end 4 with a second key slot 6, of similar construction to the key slot 5. As has been stated, the key slot 5 serves to detachably secure a rod or bar carrying cables. The key slot 6 may be used to attach a pontoon, and the key slot 5 may also be used for this purpose.

The preferred embodiment of the method of the invention will now be described in detail.

The ship to-be raised is denoted by S and is shown lying on its side, as is the usual situation in the case of a sunken ship (see Figure l). The first step is to lower the cradle F on or over the ship S. The cradle is positioned with the ends 4 of the cradle-forming elements I somewhat under the ship and with the ends 3 above the ship, so that the ship is partially enclosed by the frame-work or cradle. If necessary the ocean floor may be dredged in the vicinity of the ends 4 of the cradle, so that the ends will take a purchase on the ship. As stated, both ends 3 and 4 of the cradle-forming elements may be provided with knife edges or points, so that the obtaining of a purchase or grip on the ship will be facilitated.

The next operation is to secure a number of cables to the upper ends 3 of each of the cradleforming members and anchor them in the ocean floor. The cables may be of a thickness and length depending upon the particular problem in hand. The anchors are indicated by 9. The cables are secured to the higher end of the cradle by means of the common rod or bar 1 and the key slots 5 in the cradle-forming elements I.

In the illustrated embodiment, the cables 8 are arranged so as to cross at a point l0 intermediate the anchors and the ship. This arrangement has several important purposes. For instance, it facilitates the operation of attaching the pontoon to the cables, and serves to equalize the load and resulting strain, However, I am not precluded from arranging the cables in other Ways.

The pontoon H, which may advantageously be of spherical shape is connected at the point ll] of crossing of the cables. The water is then blown out of the pontoon in the conventional or usual manner, thereby causing the pontoon to rise to the surface of the water. The cradle is thereby caused to turn onto its rocker bottom, carrying the ship with it (see Figure 2). The cables can now be readily detached from the cradle by means of a horizontal pull on each of the cables (see Figure 6).

The next step is to raise the cradle containing the ship to the surface of the water. This can be done by connecting one or more pontoons to each side of the cradle. Referring to Figure 3, the two pontoons are denoted by l2 and I3. The

pontoons are preferably of oblong shape, and are preferably provided with rigid depending rods l4 and [5. Each of these rods may be secured to a rod or bar (not shown) common to each side of thecraolle. These common rods or bars are detachably secured in the key slots 5 and 6 in substantially the manner previously described in connection with the rod 1. The pontoons l2 and I3 are blown free of water, and as they rise they lift the cradle and the ship.

A variation consists in raising the cradle and the ship by means of a crane or derrick supported from a floating dock.

Another variation consists in refloating both the cradle and the ship by sealing the tanks and blowing out the water. Still another variation is to raise the cradle and ship sufficiently above the ocean floor so that the cradle and ship may be towed to a dry dock.

In the foregoing disclosure, I have, in conformity with the requirements of the patent statutes, described the principle underlying the invention and the preferred manner in which I contemplate applying this principle. Other embodiments of the invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art reading this disclosure, and I aim in the annexed claims to cover all modifications which do not involve a departure from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A method for raising sunken ships, which consists in lowering a frame-work onto a ship to be salvaged, turning said ship and said framework so that said ship is supported on said framework, and raising both said frame-work and said ship carried by said frame-work.

2. A method for raising sunken ships, which consists in lowering a frame-work onto a ship to be salvaged, attaching cables to the upper portion of one side of said frame-work, securing the free ends of said cables to the ocean floor, attaching a pontoon to an intermediate portion of said cables, blowing out the water from said pontoon, thereby causing said pontoon to rise and said frame-work and said ship to turn so that said ship is supported on said frame work, and raising both said frame-work and said ship.

3. A method for raising sunken ships, which consists in lowering a frame-work onto a ship to be salvaged, attaching cables to the upper portion of one side of said frame-work, securing the free ends of said cables to the ocean floor, attaching a pontoon to an intermediate portion of said cables, blowing out the water from said pontoon, thereby causing said pontoon to rise and said frame-work and said ship to turn so that said ship is supported on said frame-work, attaching pontoons to both sides of said frame-work, and pumping out the water from said pontoons, thereby causing said pontoons to rise, lifting said frame-work and said ship.

4. An apparatus for salvaging sunken vessels, said apparatus consisting of a skeleton frame- .work or cradle adapted to support a ship, said frame-work or cradle consisting of a number of spaced C-shaped elements constituting the bottom and serving as rockers for the frame-work or cradle, and means to detachably secure one or more pontoons to both ends of said C-shaped elements.

NORMAN E. DORLAND. 

